To create the model to measure climate change’s impact on Adélie penguin colonies, the research team used satellite imagery, global climate change projections and field surveys. (iStock)For millions of years, fluctuating climates have impacted Adélie penguins, which breed on ice-free, rocky ground. But warming may have reached a tipping point — and the Adélie penguin population could be decimated. Warming climates and melting glaciers meant more breeding territory for these penguins, one of only two true Antarctic penguin species. Chicks that don’t have waterproof feathers can become wet and die from hypothermia.”Climate change could also lead to a decrease in krill, a major food source for Adélie penguins, and affect the species.

Source: Washington Post June 30, 2016 19:16 UTC